Lagosian Corps Members Can’t Go North - Lagos House

The Lagos State House of Assembly has written the office of the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in protest against the recent posting of prospective corps members from the southern part of the country especially Lagos, to the north.

The NYSC authorities have continued with the registration of corpers for Batch C and have gone ahead to fix the deadline for registration at 12 midnight today.

The House said in the event that the corps members are not reposted, the NYSC should be held responsible for any negative thing which happens to any of the members.

Members of the Assembly, who protested against the resolve by the NYSC to send graduates for the mandatory one year service to some troubled areas of the north at the floor of the House, stressed that they would continue to reject it as NYSC does not have adequate provision for the security of life and property.

The House then moved that the NYSC management should “post all graduates meant for the NYSC scheme out of resolved states in Nigeria where there are violence and threat to life.”

He said he was against sacrificing innocent graduates who are supposed to be the hope of the country in the name of the service at a time “the country is going through naked violence in some parts of the north.

“We are not saying NYSC should be cancelled but if some people have chosen to be unrepentant in their brazen violence, then something must be done.”

He suggested that corps members from such trouble states could be posted there if it is so important to send corps members to the security-challenged states.

He recalled that though the scheme was set up for national integration, he was against satisfying the goals and objectives of the programme in a situation where churches, business places are attacked with several people becoming casualties.

His colleague, Rotimi Olowo, said he had lost confidence in the scheme before this critical period of the nation’s history.

Agunbiade recalled several tragedies that have befallen the corps members and added that they should rather be posted to areas where their safety would be guaranteed.

Others who supported the motion included Avoseh Hodewu Suru, and Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, who said the troubled areas of the north should have been blacklisted by the NYSC rather than planning to make parents go through grief.

“I don’t think anyone would want to give up his right to live just because he wants to serve for a year,” Tejuosho said.